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srivalli 's review for:
Murder on Line One
by Jeremy Vine
mysterious
slow-paced
2 Stars
One Liner: This didn't work
Edward Temmis feels adrift when he is let go from his beloved late-night take show on the radio. He then meets Stevie, whose grandmother listened to his shows and died under mysterious circumstances. Edward finds his purpose and tries to investigate the case with help from Kim, a local real estate agent. Soon, he discovers that Stevie’s grandmother wasn’t the only one among his listeners who died. Can he find who has been targeting his listeners and why?
The story comes in the third-person POVs.
My Thoughts:
Well, seems my inability to resist mysteries has put me in a tough spot this year. This is the third new mystery book that backfired.
The premise is pretty cool. Imagine a radio show host trying to solve the murder of his listeners, all of whom are seniors and mostly women. Amateur sleuths are fun, but not always.
I guess the writing style is the big question mark here. If you like it, you might enjoy the book more. I found it interesting in the first two chapters but then my head started to spin, and oh boy, it did spin like a spun candy machine!
While I appreciated the themes of grief (loss of a child, grandparent, etc.), abuse, etc., I couldn’t empathize with the characters. It was hard to feel for the main character as well, and that didn’t help (at all). Some of the dialogue was odd too. Was it British humor? IDK!
I decided to do what was needed and switched over to speed-reading. It helped some. At least, the plot started to progress. Still, this book should have been 70 pages shorter. You don’t need 400 pages for a mystery. There’s too much repetition.
The mystery is actually decent but I couldn’t enjoy it much. I appreciate the topic even if the execution wasn’t good. The criminal was obvious, so I had to wait for them to catch up. There isn’t much sleuthing either. Still, when we get to the ‘why’ part, I’m disappointed. It can be better than that. I’m sure of it! While there’s a subplot, I could guess that one too.
One thing I did like about the book was the setting. The sea is an integral part of the place, so it does play a good role. The house on the cliff is also good and can be a metaphor for the MC’s life.
To summarize, Murder on Line One was a slow and repetitive mystery. I can see its potential but it’s not for me. Those who like the author (he’s a popular journalist I guess) might enjoy it more.
Thank you, NetGalley, and HarperCollins UK, (HarperFiction), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
#NetGalley #MurderOnLineOne
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death